Seth Everett of CONtv is joined by Ming Chen of AMC’s “Comic Book Men” for a nightly recap of the biggest annual convention in the Comic Book/Super Hero world, COMIC-CON! Get the latest news from the convention as they speak with special guests from San Diego starting Thursday, July 9th and new episodes every night through Sunday, July 12th. During the live recording, listeners will be able to call in and share their personal stories as well!

In case you missed it, summer officially arrived last week. Some may argue it kicked off with a bang a month or so ago with the blockbuster movie, Avengers 2: Age of Ultron. In any case, summer is here and whether it’s a movie, TV show, or comic book, our hosts have your inner geek covered for the summer.

How do we keep up with all these big comic book movies? The Marvel Cinematic Universe comes to the rescue, talking about all the latest news out of Marvel studios. So if you missed the episode on Avengers 2, just go back and review it. Plus, Matt and Jeff will get you ready for Ant Man in July. And if you’re wondering what is going on with your favorite Marvel TV shows like Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or Daredevil, you can hear all about it on The Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Speaking of TV, whether you’re in the mood to reminisce about the cartoons you watched as a kid like Jem and the Holograms or maybe something more recent in pop culture, The GeekCast Radio Network is a must-listen. GCRN was founded by Steve Phillips and Mike Blanchard in 2009, as the two friends bonded on Twitter over their love of the Transformers cartoon. Their mission is to “Unleash the Geek in YOU!”. Steve talks about the decision to join BTR: “BlogTalkRadio has allowed us to grow beyond our current limitations. They know how to market podcasts, how to grow them, have connections with iTunes the rest of us only dream of, and can help us reach that next level.”

Comic books haven’t been just for kids for a long time now, often dealing with much darker topic matter than just whether or not Superman could beat the Hulk in a fight. Seth Everett brings you The Hall of Justice. His mission is to delve deeper into the social impact of the stories being told by comic book creators like Scott Kolins and Giancarlo Volpe.

One of the reasons I was a big fan of the radio growing up was the ability to tell stories and let my imagination play in the theater of the mind. Dopple Avenue Hurt, is a podcast featuring original fictional stories that is brilliantly produced by the guys at Sharkdropper Studios. Jonathan, John, Nick, Robert, and Kyle all met in January of 2014 to discuss the vision and direction of the Sharkdropper production studio. Now, they are writing, editing, acting in, or hosting 10 different fiction / non-fiction podcasts. Kyle says about joining BlogTalkRadio: “It can be hard to find your niche out there when there is so much content. We believe BlogTalkRadio will help us stand out in the crowd.”

Those are some of my favorite geeky shows. Tweet @therealpodvader or @blogtalkradio some of your favorites. Have a geek-tastic summer! (Yes, I just typed that…)

As BlogTalkRadio continues on the mission to bring quality, listener-focused podcasts to wider audiences, we are pleased to welcome the voices at Manero, an UrbanDaddy property, to the podcast medium.

Manero.com is a lifestyle website and newsletter with a focus on Latino culture. They cover many aspects of pop culture – music, books, TV, film, style, sports, gadgets and food.

Jose Simian, Executive Editor at Manero.com and host of the program says, “I had been considering a podcast, but Andy Toh’s (GM at BlogTalkRadio) enthusiasm sold me on it. I love that the Pro Studio allows us to produce live shows – which I hope we’ll do in the future – and the ability to promote the show using the power of BlogTalkRadio’s network.”

Check out this episode:

Check Out Pop Culture Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Manero on BlogTalkRadio

BlogTalkRadio is excited to announce the arrival of the Pac-12 Conference to our podcast community. The Pac-12 produces two podcasts focusing on the football and basketball seasons. They are hosted by Mike Yam and feature analysts Kevin O’Neill and Rick Neuheisel.

“It’s exciting to have the most competitive conference in college sports join BlogTalkRadio. College fans are passionate about their teams and we’re passionate about podcasts. Merging the two just makes sense,” said Jay Soderberg, Head of Content for BlogTalkRadio.

BlogTalkRadio has made great strides in expanding it’s sports coverage as the Pac-12 Network will join SNY, SB Nation, and the Fantasy Sports Trade Association award winning Fantasy Sports Channel.

BlogTalkRadio will distribute, market and sell advertising for the Pac-12 podcasts. New shows can be heard weekly at www.blogtalkradio.com and www.pac-12.com. Sponsors interested in advertising, please email advertising@blogtalkradio.com

About BlogTalkRadio

BlogTalkRadio helps podcasters thrive and profit from their content. Founded in 2006, the pioneering BlogTalkRadio platform is a unified toolkit that helps podcasters record, stream live or on demand, syndicate, measure and monetize conversational format podcasts featuring guests and listeners from any geographic location, with nothing more than a laptop, a microphone and a broadband internet connection.

Congratulations! The nominations for the 10th Annual Podcast Awards were announced and you can see the full list at www.PodcastAwards.com. There are a few shows I’m proud to highlight here that are featured on BlogTalkRadio. I’m also going to share the rest of my voting ballot, much like I shared my nomination ballot. Here we go.

Nominated in the Business category is Freakonomics. The show is hosted by Stephen Dubner and entices listeners to “prepare to be enlightened, engaged, perhaps enraged, and definitely surprised.” This show has been featured on BlogTalkRadio since 2010 and happy to vote for them to win a Podcast Award.

Success Freaks is nominated in the General category. A newcomer to BlogTalkRadio, Charles McFall and R. Mordant Mahon help others to be awesome. They are multiple time nominees for the Podcast Awards, having a presence with one show or another for 6 straight years. We should let them know, they’re awesome with a Podcast Award.

The Thinking Atheist is nominated in the Religion category. While it may seem like an oxymoron, it is not the only podcast tackling the subject of atheism in the Religion category. Seth Andrews hosts the show and just recently celebrated episode 200 on BlogTalkRadio.

As BlogTalkRadio continues to evolve and provide content creators better tools like the HD Pro Studio, we hope to see more of our listener focused shows recognized for their ability to entertain, educate and inspire their audiences. Now here’s the rest of my Podcast Awards ballot. You can vote every day at www.PodcastAwards.com until March 18th.

People’s Choice: My old show, ESPN Fantasy Focus: Football is nominated in this category and I would be humbly grateful for your vote. I did work on it for 10 of the 12 months in 2014. I think most people are going to vote forSerial, the podcast that changed the world. If I’m not going to vote for myself though, then my vote goes to my buddy Rob Cesternino and Rob Has A Podcast. He won the Best Produced last year and still has a fantastic show. So glad to see his show doing so well.

Best Produced: I mentioned in my nominations blogpost that they should rename this award to the Radiolab Award. No show comes close to this one in production value.

BlogTalkRadio is on a new mission to help podcasters thrive and profit from their hard work. The company has retained nationally known programming veteran Denise Oliver as a Programming Consultant and Strategist, a role that will see Ms. Oliver help talk/spoken word format talent, and a variety of content partners enter podcasting.

“Over the course of my career, I’ve been privileged to work with so many talented people, and I’m really looking forward to helping talk/spoken word format creators bring their skills to this fast growing medium. The new team at BlogTalkRadio is making great strides in transforming their platform with upgraded audio, and tools that make it easier to create, manage, stream, syndicate, and measure podcasts anywhere, any time, all within a single platform. I believe the platform will play a critical role in bringing many more talented creators into the field of podcasting.”

Denise shares a bond with on-air personalities, having started her career as a DJ. After launching 98 Rock, Baltimore, she helped make radio history when she introduced Howard Stern and Robin Quivers, bringing them to DC101. She then joined ABC Radio Networks and later United Stations and Westwood One where, as SVP, Programming she worked with content partners including MTV, CNN, CNBC, Fox News, CBS Marketwatch.com, The Tonight Show and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. In 2000, Denise was named to Radio Ink’s list of the 20 Most Influential Women in radio. Denise has since been a co-founder of 3 startups and consulted high profile media companies including SiriusXM, the Associated Press, Forbes, Inc., WWE, Hachette Filipacchi, Discovery Communications and E!

“We have been consistently impressed with Denise’s grasp of the talk format and the new media economy. Her wisdom from years in radio will help many in the BTR host community add to their programming the flair and structure needed to attract and engage listeners, all while respecting the more casual and intimate nature of the podcast format. We are privileged to have someone with Denise’s deep experience and insights join us in our mission”, said Andy Toh, BlogTalkRadio’s Chief Architect and General Manager. Andy was hired by the BlogTalkRadio board in early 2014 to fundamentally transform the 8 year old platform from the inside out.

About BlogTalkRadioBlogTalkRadio helps podcasters thrive and profit from their content. Founded in 2006, the pioneering BlogTalkRadio platform is a unified toolkit that helps podcasters record, stream live or on demand, syndicate, measure and monetize conversational format podcasts featuring guests and listeners from any geographic location, with nothing more than a laptop, a microphone and a broadband internet connection.

Here you go folks, these are my picks for the Podcast Awards. Feel free to take or leave my suggestions. In the end, it’s my ballot and opinion. And we all know what they say about opinions…

People’s Choice – ESPN Fantasy Focus: FootballReason: Because I worked on it for a majority of the year. In all seriousness, it’s very self-serving of me to nominate my show for the top podcast award and I would be humbly honored if you nominated it as well. The Worst Farewell Tour in History could have a perfect ending with a podcast award. Remember, this is it for this podcast as it will never exist again with Matthew, Nate, Stephania and myself. Secret Squirrel gets a pat on the back for his 2.5 months of service. I think we all know Serial will win this category anyways…

Best Produced – RadioLabReason: They should rename this category the RadioLab Award. There isn’t a single show that is better produced. I still spend too much of my time trying to figure out how they put all the sounds together to make such a compelling story. If you know of a better production, please let me know.

Business – The Livelihood ShowReason: Marcy Rosenbaum has a way of making the discussions feel so personable. It’s warm and inviting – the exact opposite of what I feel business really is. That’s what makes this podcast so good.

Comedy – Doug Loves MoviesReason: So many candidates in this category and I listen to all of them. But when I’m down and I really need a laugh, it’s Doug Loves Movies that I always find myself turning to. Realize I’m also trying to nominate all my favorite shows so picking the right category to get them all nominated in is difficult.

Cultural/Arts – The Yarn ThingReason: I just found this podcast as I was scanning through shows for my new job at BlogTalkRadio and you’ll be pleasantly surprised that this show is more than just yarn. The production quality is sound and Marly really knows how to spin a yarn (yeah, I went there with that pun. Couldn’t resist!)

Education – Grammar GirlReason: Another category that should just be renamed. Thought about one of the many different history podcasts here too, but in the end, Grammar Girl is all about the education. Some of those history podcasts are more about the entertainment. Not saying Grammar Girl isn’t entertaining…oh boy, I dug myself in a hole. Probably had some real bad syntax errors in here as well. Moving on…

Entertainment – Rob Has A PodcastReason: I like the reality TV shows. Rob podcasts about reality tv shows. He does a fantastic job and I couldn’t be more proud of the success he’s enjoyed recently. Despite what others might tell you, this show is definitely worth more than zero earbuds. It’s worth the whole dang iPod (or iPhone – whichever you prefer).

Food and Drink – Let’s Drink About ItReason: Another show I came across due to my new job responsibilities at BlogTalkRadio, but this one isn’t on our platform. It’s fantastic! The creative idea of linking an adult beverage to a meaningful point in life is simply brilliant. Try this one out. You won’t be sorry.

Gaming – Joystiq PodcastsReason: Another category with a high level of competition. Joystiq shows are entertaining and informative. That’s a good combination for any podcast.

Health and Fitness – 1, 2, Many: Veteran SuicideReason: Tim Lawson has put together a very important show on a difficult topic that can’t stay hidden in the shadows. Very honored that he brought this show to BlogTalkRadio and I applaud him on his efforts.

Mature – WTF with Marc MaronReason: Ok, I think the category is meant to be directed at other content than what I have nominated here. But think about it. Marc uses harsh language – it’s in the title of his show. He has grown-up, adult conversations with grown up adults. And the show has been around for a few years. It’s a mature talk show. (Plus, I already nominated other shows in People’s Choice, Comedy and General.)

Movies/Films – I Watch MikeReason: Mike is an entertaining guy who watches more than just movies. He watches tv shows and is all about the latest pop culture. But he does watch movies and that qualifies him for this category.

Podsafe Music – CovervilleReason: Brian Ibbott consistently puts together the best podcast about cover songs ever. There isn’t a better music podcast out there and considering how difficult it is to feature music in downloadable content, makes this award one of the toughest to get. Period. This is another category that should be renamed for a show.

Politics/News – No AgendaReason: It’s the best podcast in the universe, hosted by the Podfather himself, Adam Curry and the great, John C. Dvorak. You can learn a lot about podcasting from listening to this show. I know I have.

Religion Inspiration – The Thinking AtheistReason: A super well done show that gets right to the heart of the matter. I understand atheism isn’t really a religion and I suppose you could say it’s anti-religion, but atheism shows have been nominated in this category before and I’m nominating Seth’s program here.

Sports – ESPN Fantasy Focus: FootballReason: If you disagree with me about being the best podcast overall in the People’s Choice category, it’s tough to say this isn’t the best sports podcast in the world. Plus, this show has won 6 awards. Getting a 7th award would be great but getting an 8th would be for Nate. #TheWorstFarewellTourEver

Technology – TWiTReason: Leo Laporte is a future hall of famer, if he isn’t inducted this year. Another category that should be renamed for the show.

Travel – WDW RadioReason: We should really consider re-naming these categories for shows that deserve the recognition. This show dominates the category. Period.

So those are my nominations. I’m sure you’ll disagree with some of my nods and that’s ok. As I said at the beginning of this process, we all have opinions. These are the shows that I feel most deserve recognition for 2014.

“Tony lends us a strong credible voice in the world of sports talk and someone for our content creators to emulate. It’s a great pleasure to be rejoined with an old friend,” said Jay Soderberg, Head of Content for BlogTalkRadio.

Tony Bruno on why he choose BlogTalkRadio, “Deciding who to partner with was an exhaustive process. BlogTalkRadio is the ONLY company out there with a fully portable stream and call screener system built into one application and when they approached me with their new PRO STUDIO in full HD hosting platform, the choice was clear. I am excited to be a part of a company that is striving to bring both innovation and quality content directly to the fans.”

Tony Bruno is a man of the people and you can plan to see his show on the road including in Arizona for this year’s Super Bowl.

BlogTalkRadio is a podcasting platform committed to making the life of the podcaster as easy as possible. Founded in 2006, the BlogTalkRadio platform is a unified platform that enables the recording, live streaming, on-demand syndication, measurement and monetization of conversational format podcasts featuring guests and listeners from any geographic location, with nothing more than a laptop, a microphone and a broadband internet connection. Podcasts hosted on our platform are consumed by listeners in both live and/or on-demand basis via our website and a host of podcast syndication channels like iTunes and Stitcher. If you are an established radio host or podcaster seeking a new home for your podcasts, please email our Head of Content, Jay Soderberg at podvader@blogtalkradio.com. Sponsors interested in advertising, please email advertising@blogtalkradio.com.